Where’s Heshie?

An update on this blog, as the persistent Claudia Rosett follows-up and shares her continuing (and growing) amazement about the real and/or invented—and now erased—exploits of one Hesham “Heshie” Islam, aide and erstwhile Muslim Dragoman to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England.

Diana West opines that maybe there should be hearings on Heshie’s (cyber)-disappearance, and other more alarming aspects of his overall function.

Hey, Presto! Where did it go?Last Friday NRO ran my article, “Questions for the Pentagon: Who Is Hesham Islam?”

The article raised questions about some of the stories recounted in a glowing profile, dated Oct. 15, on the Defense Department web site, featuring a top Pentagon aide, Hesham Islam.Instead of answering the questions, the Pentagon appears to have disappeared the profile.

Today (1/28/08), the entire web page, complete with photo of Islam in his office and lavish praise from his boss, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, appears to have simply vanished from the DoD site. What was previously a link to the article (click on the second link listed here) is now a link to current news articles (no Hesham Islam), and the profile seems to have disappeared even from the October 15 archives.

As of this writing a cached version can still be found on Google. Lest it disappear from the face of the earth, here’s a copy of the original in pdf format, and here it is saved as a web page. This is an Armed Forces Press Service article which the Pentagon until recently appeared only too happy to publicize as DoD gospel.What’s going on?

I phoned the Pentagon to ask, following more than a week of trying to get answers prior to publishing the story last Friday about the mysteries surrounding this top aide, whom Gordon England, number two man at the Pentagon, described last year (that link has not yet disappeared) as his “personal close confidante.”

No answers yet. Once again: Who’s running this show?

Note: The Administration seems to be having a busy month at the Memory Hole. Over at State, they’ve disappeared Jay Lefkowitz’s sterling speech on North Korea. Now, awkward questions still unanswered, flash! goes the neuralizer at the Pentagon (hat tip to Men in Black). Let’s try that one more time.

“While military action against those extremists who do others harm is a necessary part of that resolve — it is not sufficient. Another important part of the solution is clearly demonstrating, and making known in no uncertain terms, that there is no contradiction between the peaceful religion of Islam and America’s values and principles. Muslims – an integral part of the fabric of America – are successful in building careers, raising families and strengthening their communities. You, my friends, are the shining example for the rest of the world. “One way that you can make a profound difference in the fundamental struggle of the 21st century is by ensuring that your voice is heard. … Making your voices heard is important and necessary to defeat the terrorists’ distorted ideologies.”

Armed Forces Press Service news release on Gordon England’s speech to an ISNA delegation visiting the Pentagon on April 26, 2006: